Copper is a former community

Ghost town

A ghost town is an abandoned town or city. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economic activity that supported it has failed, or due to natural or human-caused disasters such as floods, government actions, uncontrolled lawlessness, war, or nuclear disasters...

 in Jackson County

Jackson County, Oregon

-National protected areas:* Cascade–Siskiyou National Monument* Crater Lake National Park * Klamath National Forest * Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest * Umpqua National Forest -Demographics:...

, Oregon

Oregon

Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...

, United States. Copper was located about a mile north of the Oregon-California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 border, near the mouth of Carberry Creek. Copper was named for the copper

Copper

Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...

 mining in the region, including at the Blue Ledge mine just over the state line in California. The town had a post office from 1924 until 1932.

The townsite was inundated in 1980 when Applegate Lake

Applegate Lake

Applegate Lake is a 988-acre reservoir located approximately from Jacksonville, Oregon, United States, and south of Applegate, Oregon, along Upper Applegate Road. The lake is an impoundment of the Applegate River....

 was formed by damming the Applegate River

Applegate River

The Applegate River is a long tributary of the Rogue River in the U.S. state of Oregon. It drains approximately . Rising in northern California, it soon crosses the border and flows northeast then northwest to meet the Rogue about west of Grants Pass...

.